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Canneto Vino Nobile: an exquisite red.

Everyone has experienced the robust Chianti wines from the heart of Tuscany, and most have heard of (if not enjoyed) the rich, powerful Brunello wines from Montalcino, but many are not aware that there is a third Sangiovese brother on the Tuscan wine scene: Vino Nobile di Montepulciano.  Vino Nobile wines are made from the Sangiovese clone prugnolo gentile (meaning 'nice little plums') that grow on the verdant hills surrounding Montepulciano.

Just an hour's drive from Siena on the road connecting the beautiful hilltowns of Montalcino and Pienza, Montepulciano is home to some truly memorable reds and fine Vin Santo dessert wines.  Some extraordinary producers in the area include Avignonesi who is renowned for their rare and spendy Vin Santo 'Occhio di Pernice' sweet wine (if you can find a bottle anywhere, buy it!), and Poliziano's elegant Vino Nobile 'Asinone', what I like to call a truly "big-ass" wine (asinone is Italian for 'large donkey').  While visiting the area, be sure to visit these fine produttori to sample their latest releases.

Located on the southeast side of Montepulciano adjacent to the ancient Madonna di San Biagio church, you will find the small producer Canneto.  Under the gentle guiding hand of Ottorino de Angelis, Canneto has been producing big, wonderful Nobile wines since 1970.  Each year they produce superb Nobile normale and riserva wines, the young and immediately drinkable Rosso di Montepulciano, and a late harvest sweet wine called Vendemmia Tardiva.  When I visited Ottorino in late September last year during the Sangiovese harvest, the effects of the 2003 Europe-wide heat wave were immediately apparent.  "The grapes are tired, having survived a very difficult year of continuous heat," said Ottorino.  "The heat has helped the sugars in the grapes mature much earlier than usual, but many of the other elements of the grape perhaps did not mature well, which may result in a wine that is not well balanced.  With the smaller harvest and the complex conditions, the 2003 wines will be interesting to follow."

I've been quite pleased with Canneto's offering this year, and we've brought in 3 of their top wines.  The 2000 Nobile shows some firm tannins and a nose reminiscent of cherry, plum and licorice.  The 1999 Nobile riserva is more complex with a nose of fruit and warm, sweet spices and herbs like tarragon, while it is quite intense, balanced and pleasantly tannic on the palate.  And for a quaffable, fresh and fruity vino quotidiano (daily wine), Canneto's 2002 Rosso di Montepulciano has a glorious ruby red color and a nose and taste of young red fruits, white pepper, and cinnamon.

You'll find our Canneto wines at Pastaworks on Hawthorne (tele: 503.232.1010) and inside City Market on Northwest 21st Avenue (503.221.3002).

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Michael's Travel Notes

The trek to Monte Valentino.

"You won't make it up the hill. We'll have to pick you up at the train station," says Fabrizia Gargano, the co-proprietor of Monte Valentino, an exquisite little agriturismo (an Italian B&B) that produces the wonderful sweet Visciole cherry wine called Sollucchero. Monte Valentino is a 300+ year old borgo nestled in the verdant Umbrian hills just north of Perugia. But in late January, we're greeted with a blanket of snow that highlights the dormant cherry trees as Nicola Polchi, Fabrizia's husband, navigates his Land Rover up the steep single lane road from the valley below. I'm glad I'm not driving. The views are stunning on the way up, but enjoying the scenery while driving could prove fatal.

With roots dating back to the days of the Dukes of Urbino, Fabrizia and Nicola restored this small borgo in 1996 with an eye toward living a life immersed in the beauty of a natural and wild Umbria. In addition to producing Sollucchero wine, each year they open their home to travelers looking to experience a region rich with history yet a bit off the beaten track.

While Nicola spends much of his time in the winter months finely crafting handsome furniture made from oak and walnut from the nearby forests, he is always ready to describe the process of making Sollucchero and take you on a tour of the cantina. "Fabrizia and I hand collect the Visciole cherries at their peak of sugar production, which is in early July when the cherry skins just start to wrinkle." Nicola is quick to tell us that they macerate the bitter cherries and blend with a base of Rosso Orvietano wine the same day to ensure the rich, spicy essence of the visciole cherry is captured by the wine.  The wine spends several months in cold fermentation and is finally filtered and blended with a bit of alcohol and a touch of sugar to offset the bitterness of the Visciole.  "We then bottle the wine and let it age for 9 months before releasing it," says Nicola.  "The wine never touches oak, but this year we will be experimenting with aging some of the Sollucchero production in oak casks to see what it can offer to the wine."

Visciole cherries are unlike anything we Americans are used to. Not quite a pie cherry, and certainly not like the sweet cherries we eat by the fistful in the late spring, Visciole cherries are quite small and exceptionally tart.  The Visciola cherry tree grows wild and its cultivation was a favorite of the Italian contadini or rural peasant farmers of the past.  Fabrizia and Nicola have taken the wonderful wild, spicy Visciole to a new level with their exquisite Sollucchero.

Food Pairing:  Sollucchero is heavenly by itself as a dessert wine, but its sweet spiciness goes particularly well with blue-veined cheeses like gorgonzola or the wonderful Crater Lake Blue from The Rogue Creamery.  Sollucchero is also out of this world with dark chocolate and wonderful drizzled on vanilla gelato.

Where to buy Sollucchero: You'll find this unique and rare dessert wine in 500 ml bottles at Pastaworks on Hawthorne (tele: 503.232.1010) and inside City Market on Northwest 21st Avenue (503.221.3002). If you'd like to sample this luscious wine, consider dropping in at Pix Patisserie on SE Division (503.232.4407).

Visiting Monte Valentino: Monte Valentino is just off the connecting road between Umbertide and Pietralunga, just north of Perugia.   You can reach Fabrizia via email, or call her at +39.075.946.2092.  The best times to visit are in May during the blooming of the Visciole, early July at harvest, and throughout autumn when the Umbrian forests explode with color.  Fabrizia and Nicola share their home with up to 10 people as an Agriturismo that is open year-round. Find out more on their website at www.montevalentino.it

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Seasonal Recipes

Glorious spring carciofi

Teresa and I travel often to Italy in search of wonderful, new and rare finds in Italian wines to share with you.  In a world filled with year-round tomatoes and tasteless strawberries in the dead of winter, it's truly a pleasure to visit a country that values in-season produce.  At this time of year in Italy you'll find petite baby carciofi, or artichokes, available at the markets and in osterias throughout the country.  Locals buy these beautiful chokes grown in the southern province of Puglia by the armful.  Whether braised, tossed with pasta, or simply slivered and eaten raw with a bit of Pecorino from Pienza, there are few late-winter treats like the glorious baby artichoke.

One of our favorite antipasto or side dishes that Teresa and I like to serve this time of year is the glorious Carciofi all Romana, or Artichokes prepared Roman Style. When we visit Rome in the spring, this tender signature dish can be found in trattorias throughout the city. The recipe we share here is adapted from Marcella Hazan's Essentials of Classic Italian Cooking. For us, there's no better way to experience the promise of the coming spring than with young chokes prepared alla Romana.

Artichokes, Roman Style

Serves 4 people

Ingredients:

	6-8		small (baby) artichokes		1-1/2		teaspoons fresh garlic, chopped fine
	1/2		lemon		1/2		cup extra virgin olive oil
	3		tablespoons fresh parsley, chopped fine				salt
	1		teaspoon fresh marjoram, chopped fine				black pepper, freshly ground

Preparation:

1. Trim the artichokes of their tough outer leaves while leaving them whole.  If you're unsure of how to clean the chokes, click here to visit the "Basic Preparation" page on the California Artichoke Advisory Board website.  Scroll down the page to find the section entitled "(Completely Edible) Baby Artichokes."  As you clean them, rub them with the lemon to keep them from turning dark.  If your chokes are not baby-sized, you'll need to remove the fuzzy "choke" inside them.  The stem on the artichoke is edible, so keep it attached and simply pare away the outer green part of the stem with a knife.
2. Mix the chopped parsley, marjoram and garlic in a bowl and add a 1/2 teaspoon of salt and a few grindings of pepper.  Take two-thirds of the mixture and press as much of it into the body of the artichokes as you can.  Rub the outside of the artichokes with the remaining one-third of the mixture.
3. In a heavy-bottomed pan, arrange the artichokes in the bottom of the pan and then add the olive oil and enough water to come 1" up the sides of the pan.  Tightly cover the pan and place over medium heat, allowing the chokes to cook until a fork easily pierces the thick part between the stem and the heart, about 30 minutes.  Check them after 15-20 minutes to make sure there remains enough water in the pan to avoid scorching.  Add a few tablespoons of water if needed.
4. When the artichokes are tender, remove them from the pot and place them on a serving plate and let them cool a bit.  With the liquid in the pan that remains, reduce it by boiling away a bit of the water, but don't let it burn or completely evaporate.
5. When you're ready to serve the artichokes, pour the reduced cooking liquid over them and serve immediately.  The artichokes are best served when they're no longer hot, but a bit above room temperature.  Buon appetito!

Wine Pairing:  Matching a wine to artichokes can be a challenge.  Pick something young, fresh and clean, even a bit acidic to help bring out the true sweetness of the artichokes.  I recommend our 2002 Resico Chardonnay & Vermentino blend from San Luciano, produced near Cortona in Tuscany (think Under the Tuscan Sun).  This Chardonnay is quite unlike its syrupy brethren from California, so if you've never tried a lightly-oaked Chardonnay, you're in for a very pleasant, fruity surprise.  Pick up a bottle of Resico while you're shopping for your baby artichokes at Pastaworks.